


My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys

by wildwesternwoman



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Sharing a Bed, This is Just Really Cute OK
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:15:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23823664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildwesternwoman/pseuds/wildwesternwoman
Summary: There were no real cowboys left in the world. Not like the ones you grew up loving. That is what you really believed. And then you met Arthur Morgan.
Relationships: Arthur Morgan/Reader
Kudos: 18





	My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys

You grew up fascinated with cowboys. John Wayne, Matt Dillon, Willie Nelson. No one in your family really knew what kickstarted that, it had been natural, like you were born with this infatuation. As a child, it was rather sweet. You’d watch old westerns with your grandparents and sit wide eyed as your great uncle told you about the cowboy stories he used to hear on the radio when he was your age. As a teenager, you devoured every Western book you could get your hands on. Louis L’Amour, Lucia St. Clare Robson, Elmer Kelton. You would’ve given your heart to any of those Texas Rangers he wrote about. And, God, did you adore a young Clint Eastwood. You were a polite, educated young lady, but you longed for the day your cowboy would arrive and you’d be highwaymen together.

But it wasn’t the old west anymore. This was the 21st Century and you were quite certain there weren’t any cowboys anymore. Not real cowboys. Sure, there were actors who played them in TV shows and movies and singers who really, truly, thought that wearing a cowboy hat and singing about a horse made him a cowboy. But what had happened to the Andy Pickards? The Doc Hollidays? Hell, even the Marlboro Man was more cowboy than modern day cowboys.

That’s what you truly believed.

Until you started college. You’d applied for every university within a reasonable tuition range in the West. Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, even California. Somewhere where you might find a kindred spirit. Someone with a cowboy soul, just like you. Even if there weren’t any real cowboys left in this world.

And that, that is where you met Arthur Morgan.

Arthur was a “non-traditional” student. He was a little bit older, but still incredibly handsome. He worked at the school’s ag farm, helping to tend to the animals. But you met him in an English class your sophomore year. He was generally quiet and kept to himself, but he had this unmistakable laugh. The first time you heard it, you were certain it was angels singing.

You had never whipped your head around so quick. You were just in time to see the way his eyes crinkle as he laughs. A smile spread across your face. _God, what a beautiful man._ He caught your stare and you thought your heart would thump out of your chest. He gave you a polite head nod and you had to consciously look away before he thought you were a weirdo. You could just picture him going home with you at Thanksgiving. Meeting your family, seeing your hometown, sweetly poking fun of your childhood bedroom. Your grandmother would just love him. Your mother would love him. Hell, your dog would love him. You could see yourself loving him. You knew that was a lot to gleam from just a laugh, but damn, what a laugh.

You really did not mean to bump into him as your tried to exit the class a few moments later, honest you didn’t. You were just _that_ distracted by your fantasy life with him. By the time your shoulder bumped his hands, you guys had already grown old together in your mind.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” You said as he let out a soft oof.

“Nah, don’t you worry. I wasn’t paying much attention either.” He said as he stooped to pick up his books. He cast you a gorgeous smile as you stood there, somewhat awkwardly.

“Um, I’m Y/N.” You introduced yourself, holding your hand out.

“Arthur Morgan,” he shook your hand. His hands were big. Big and rough. Calloused, like a cowboy’s. You wondered what all he could do with those hands. The pleasure he could bring you, but not just sexually, from holding your smaller, softer hand in his, from bringing you coffee in the mornings, from picking you wildflowers. _God, those hands._

“It’s nice to meet you, Arthur.”

“You too, Miss Y/N.”

After that chance encounter, Arthur often waved at your when he saw you on campus or said hello or goodbye in English class. You didn’t have any real substantial conversations, other than to maybe ask how one of you thought you did on the last test. But then, your science class took a field trip to the ag farm to learn about the science that goes into running a farm. A necessary topic since many of your classmates were ag majors themselves that would eventually return to running their family farms and ranches.

You really shouldn’t have wondered off, but the sound a familiar voice called to you and you couldn’t ignore it. Besides, the professor would never notice. She was so scattered; she’d hardly miss a student or two. Many were starting to poke around on their own, anyway. And you had to find the source of the voice you could just barely place.

“Yer alright,” It spoke softly. “That’s a good girl.”

You found Arthur in a pen with a large black horse trying his damnedest to calm it down. You seated yourself on the gate and watched as he approached the animal and it reared up over him. He only laughed and mumbled something about the horse being feisty and needing to calm down. It took him only three tries under your gaze to approach the horse and get his hands on her.

“That’s it, girl. You’re ok,” He spoke gently, then added, without missing a beat. “You just gonna sit there and grin or you gonna come over here and see her up close?”

You faltered. Was he talking to you? But there was no one else around, so he must’ve been talking to you. “Can I?”

“Sure. She won’t bite. Probably.” He laughed and you could’ve died and went to heaven with all those angels.

You climbed over the gate and into the pen, incredibly grateful that you’d opted for your trusty cowboy boots today. You walked over to the horse, staying as close to Arthur as possible. He just smiled at your timidness.

“You ever been face to face with a horse before?” He asked.

“Yes,” You shot back defensively. As if you’d never touched a horse before. You had. But maybe not as often as you’d like.

“Alright then, cowgirl, saddle ‘er up and take her for a spin.”

“Oh, _hell no_!” He laughed. Again. You wanted to make him laugh forever. He took your hand and placed it gently against the horse’s neck.

And he looked at you with that sweet smile you’d been daydreaming about and those little lines around his beautiful blue eyes and you realized that, for the first time in your life you were _face to face with a cowboy._ Just like you’d always wanted. A real cowboy. The last of your heroes. And you don’t know what he felt, but you were certain you were in love.


End file.
